Animal of the Week: Indrella ampulla

A bit of coloury disharmony is all you want to make your August exciting! A tinge of red and white against all greens of the deep forests of Coorg – a small snail called Indrella ampulla that’s endemic to a treasure of a geographical terrain, the Western Ghats of India.

The only species in the ‘Indrella’ genus, this air-breathing terrestrial mollusk is polymorphic, with a thin, imperforate shell that flaunts distinct whorls. In plain English, that means it’s striking and curious. The shell is oval, fairly large and at an angle to the rest of the snail’s body, and can be dark brown or brownish olive. It is smooth and glossy and is of the same colour within as outside.

The visible soft parts of the snail are made of different colours, including red, white, cream, orange and pale yellow, and make for a brilliant contrast with the forest as it goes about feeding mainly on large fungi with about 100 rows of teeth! And because of this incredible feature, it is our Animal of the Week!